Michael Morse rounds the bases after his towering, first-inning home run.

Game in a nutshell: In the latest installment of "The Biggest Series in Nationals history," the locals got off to a brilliant start they couldn't have scripted any better. Michael Morse and Ryan Zimmerman launched three-run homers and Steve Lombardozzi added a two-run double that gave the Nats an insurmountable 9-0 lead after five innings, with Stephen Strasburg cruising along on his 24th birthday. Chalk up a huge victory for the Nats … er, maybe not. Strasburg gave up four runs in the sixth before getting yanked. Drew Storen and Sean Burnett made a mess of the eighth inning, combining to surrender four more runs and give the Braves life. And the Tyler Clippard finished off the meltdown by giving up a two-run triple to Michael Bourn in the top of the ninth that completed the Braves' stunning, 10-run rally. It was the largest blown lead in franchise history, and it left everyone inside Nationals ParkRead more »

Definitely concerned about Clippard. He seems to have pitched a lot more frequently than he is comfortable with. In have to believe his arm is tired. Rain didn't help. Next game please, put this one behind us.

Wow, I was at last year's meltdown to the cubs but this is worse. Very concerned about all the relievers falling apart at the same time. And our two aces both looked shaky. Let's see some of that famous resiliency and character tomorrow. EJax and Lsnnan . Oh, goody.

I have grown with my team. Last year, the drop-of-hat-negativity would raise my blood pressure, and keep me from enjoying the company of my imaginary friends. No more… I actually get a kick out of the Doom Squad. The predictability of the Legion of Chicken Littles is like knowing exactly what Daffy or Elmer will do next, and still LMFAO when Bugs lays them low.It's simple, guys…. I enjoy the whole ride. Because I Believe. Some of y'all…not so much… See ya tomorrow……

Wow….what a game. As bad as this sounds, this game might actually be good for us. We are young and green. I think Davey learned a WHOLE lot about his ball club tonight. A lot more than he would of learned with a 9-2 win.I will be back tomorrow with my Nats shirt on. I wish I was still young.

historically winning franchise, Braves taught historically losing franchise Nats how to come back and win a 9-0 deficit in their HOME park. Two days in a row the Nats are down 9-0 and cannot come back and tonight up 9-0 and choke.Our last at bats were EFFORTLESS and ii looked like we just wanted to go home and prepare to lose 2 more tomorrow.Davey Johnson had taken what was a rested bullpen and now it is our bull pen who is tired and we LOST! Gorzo can only go one inning without giving up a run. Where was Mattheus in the 11th???What hurts is that the Braves were down 9-0 in these weather conditions so there is NO excuse for the weather.This is the worse loss in a meaningful game since 2005.

9 to 0 and they lose? What the F is going on? To this POS team at home? WTF is going on with the pitching staff? This is just BS!!!!!Do they all have to melt down all at once? DJ and Rizzo better be concerned about this. They need to win this series or P's (ooooh…did I mention that?) aren't in their future!C'mon guys, y'all need to get this going!gyFNG!!!!!

My one worry from this game is Clippard. This is 4 shaky appearances in a row, and we need some more consistency from the bullpen right now. Hopefully Drew is what we are looking for, and can get himself back to gameshape.The Braves are the real deal, and this is going to be a tough series. Let's do this.

Major Jammage said…My one worry from this game is Clippardtotally agree but worse than Clip is Burnett… he is terrible and he basically lost this game as he did verse O's and Rockies. Look, the Nats are going to be very good fora long time, but not this year, there are few losers on this team use to the losing days that need to get booted

OK. We need to get past this. Champions do. Each of the guys need to spend a few minutes to change what needs to be changed and move to tomorrow and win two! We just didn't suddenly become a bad team. These guys are young have much to learn and today was another opportunity to learn and not hang their head. Come out blazing tomorrow!

What I wonder about is how a team that loses like this can actually come back and win the next day in a double-header. A collective meltdown of the bullpen like this simply does not get forgotten, whatever Mr. Knight says. I think this is it guys. Clippard gives up a 2-run lead against the Mets. They get knocked around again later in the Mets series. This is not to mention he almost blew a lead in Miami. I just don't see how he comes back from this. Ask H-Rod.

Braves show why they are the best in the East and I bet they are up 7-8 games on Nats by Aug 10th and we will be talking about maybe we will be a Wild Card. By Sept 1, we may be talking about can we win 85 games. This loss can hurt a franchise for a long time. I never thought i would ever see this team blow a 9-0 lead at HOME!!!!

Maybe it's just me, but after 3.5 months of first place baseball, the best starting pitching in MLB, a stocked farm system, 2 of the top players under 25 in Stras and Harper, I'm ok with an ugly loss on July 20 that drops us to "only" 3 games ahead in the loss columnCall me crazy

DJB said…What I wonder about is how a team that loses like this can actually come back and win the next day in a double-headerthey won't, to begin with, there is a reason Ejax is playing for his 6th team, he is soft and basically he quits in the second half of a season, don't take my word, look up his stats.Lannan will probably get drilled and on Sunday the Nats will be playing not be humiliated.

Poppycock, I say. I hate football fan mentality on a baseball blog. It's one game, though it was painful, the Nats aren't going to fold up the tent and quit. It does seem like we need a Bullpen Whisperer though.

It was Clippard's fourth straight shaky outing, and it's got to leave the Nationals deeply concerned.Clippard has shown that he's not a closer. It has nothing to do with his stuff or his pitch selection or being tired or anything of the sort. It has everything to do with his head. He cannot put a bad outing in the rear view mirror and come back out the next day as if it never happened, and that is the one thing that makes a closer different from any other reliever. It's why they make the big bucks. Henry couldn't do it either, which is why he spiraled into failure after a promising start. The good news is that Storen can do it, and he's back. He'll be the closer again before much longer. Davey just needs to figure out how to ease Clippard out of the job without destroying the confidence he'll need to go back to his old role and excel there again. Davey is a good manager, he'll get it done.

I was glad to see Davey take the blame, but privately I hope Davey lays into Burnett and tells him his days are numbered with this team and his performance may have hurt this team well beyond tonight's game

Swift,I would never call you crazy, but you have to look at it objectively. Harper was 0 for 5 and Stras has been very inconsistent recently. With a bullpen in full self-destruct mode and a bad offense, this team is not going anywhere. Collective chokes like this are not forgotten. I would be surprised if we end with last season's record, and, if so, Rizzo should be out. He chose these players.

No, aren't the bullpen his guys? Didn't he do the Werth deal. If they end with last season's record, I think he should be out, and we should be looking at experienced players who can handle the pressure.

Just re-capping some of the brilliant posts so far tonight from the Legion of Doom1. Would have won tonight w/Rick Ankiel out there2. Millone is better than Gio3. Stras and Harper are chokers4. Rizzo should be fired5. Nats bullpen sucksThat's the TOp 5, but it's early

Nats lady called it,.. Gorzo gives up at least 1 run, so… after dodging the bullet in the 10th why, why have him pitch the 11th when you have Matthues. Better yet, why not bring in Matthues for Burnett after his second walk???

Swift Eagle the only one that is true is the bullpen, actually Davey's handling of the pen sucked and there was NO logic to his moves ——————————————That's right and lets hope this doesn't send us into a spin. Pry for a win tomorrow or we could be in trouble. Hopefully it's just a blip on the radar screen and we get passed it but…

Swift…. I would be happy to lose this bet, but I'm afraid I wont. tell you what, if Nats split this series, then they would show me some toughness, if they lose 3 or are swept, i will make the bet with you

Rizzo is so overrated as a GM it isn't funny. Rizzo got Strasburg and Harper…tough selections. Traded 4 players for Gio (one of whom is currently having just as good a year as Gio…and getting better as the year goes on), signed Werth to a laughing stock of a contract, overpaid Zimmerman 2 years before he had to, reaped the benefits of Desmond (who he tried to trade if you remember), Zimmermann, Zimmerman, Clippard, & Espinosa (all Bowden selections), and got rid of Hanrahan and Willingham for HRod, Brown, Nyjer and Burnett. Please explain why he is such a great GM???

Not ready to give up on the season , but concerned that the starters and bullpen all seem to be struggling at once. Offense was there yesterday and today. Gio and strassie , burnie and clip all shaky. Alternate universe strikes. I want to see if they can shake this off. Can jordan pitch every day?

Joe seam… Rizzo is excellent and so is Davey. we are a year away of finding the final pieces to win with. What is clear is that Burnett is not one of those pieces. A good pitcher does not hit batters or walk in runs in the biggest home stand of the season so far.

Yes, if the Nationals collapse in the second half, he should be fired. I don't think people realize the enormity of the collapse here. It just doesn't happen, not among a good team. By the way, Rizzo could have drafted Trout, but chose Storen instead. Not good. They finish with a worse record than last year, he should be fired.

That had to be the worst managing job in the history of the game. Njack…talk me down please…..What was Johnson doing….the whole park had a better feel for what needed to be done and Johnson was just too smug. He failed his team not the other way around. That was Johnson loss. Nobody warming for Clippard who clearly had nothing…..Burnett was left too long. Changing Flores out…..what was that about…..Davey Johnson showed his weakness….he believes he is smarter than everyone……and is blind to the obvious.

Fear- Rizzo has had his hits and misses like all GMs (I dislike the Werth and Zimm contracts too). I like 2 things about him, 1. The Nats record continues to improve under his lead, and 2. He drafts power arms and big bats…I really think he has stockpiled the farm…

swift…. those contracts were necessary to let other potential free agents down the road know that the Nats are serious, so i disagree from that standpoint I like Rizzo's belief in pitching… we have 3 studs in Strass, Gio and Zim, Det is an adequate 5th starter and this team needs one more beast either in their farm or free agent next year

Swift,The farm is mediocre. Rendon has played one game this season. Alex Meyer is a top 100 prospect with control problems. We have no closer. We thought H-Rod was a good idea when the league had already passed on him. We brought in Lidge and then DFA'd him. We thought Wang was a viable fifth starter. We rushed up Harper when he clearly can't see curveballs. We gave up an improving Milone and Peacock for a Gio that is getting worse as the season goes on. Worst, we have no one in the pen that can handle pressure. H-Rod had a meltdown and Clippard had a meltdown. A crappy, overhyped GM.

Swift Eagle, you are to the Nats what Rush Limbaugh is the Republican Party. Your "recap" intends to (unsuccessfully) paint anyone who has a dissenting opinion as an idiot. If your recap is intending to summarize other peoples posts you have interpretation issues.

JayB said… That had to be the worst managing job in the history of the game. Njack…talk me down please…..What was Johnson doing….the whole park had a better feel for what needed to be done and Johnson was just too smug. He failed his team not the other way around. That was Johnson loss. Nobody warming for Clippard who clearly had nothing…..Burnett was left too long. Changing Flores out…..what was that about…..Davey Johnson showed his weakness….he believes he is smarter than everyone……and is blind to the obvious. ——————————–Isn't that the truth. Hopefully they can win that 1pm game

Look who is shutting out the Yankees through 7 innings (a team that has a franchise record 43 straight games with 3+ runs) and now has a lower ERA than Gio. Any guesses???Go away Ori'hole fan. Your team is nine or 10 games back … and the O's are going to lose to the Rays and the Bosox as usual. They are lucky Toronto isn't as good as they should be.

Just got back from the game. I hope Davey apologizes for the way he managed it.(1) Strasburg should never have come back for the 6th, or if he did he should have been removed after the HR, or after the next batter. Conditions were terrible.(2) Davey TOO cute by half. No reason AT ALL to bring Storen in. None. Bring Gorzy in and let him go two or three, as usual. If he gives up a run or two it's still 9-4 or 9-5. Then give M. Gonzalez and Mattheus an inning each to finish the game. That's the usual plan for Stras starts and Davey should have stuck with it!!! (3) When it was 9-8, use Mattheus instead of Clip Something is wrong with Clip, whether it's his head or it's his shoulder, I can't say. Maybe he isn't warming enough, whatever. You can't manage to the "save" statistic. Just let Clip rest another day–it's not like you won't need him for the doubleheader.You Morse lovers. I missed the first inning because I couldn't leave work until 6. So I'm walking from my car and hear the Morse HR and I was totally ready to eat crow on a Morse trade. Then I watched him give at least two runs back in RF, and take really weird routes on the balls he did catch. Werth can't get back soon enough!I suppose you put Morse in left then, but Lombo is actually fine there. He doesn't have the arm, for sure, but he gets to all the catchable balls and some that you don't think he'll catch, and he has sure hands. Get Morse to the AL where he belongs and get a SP, because Stras is struggling.Now the boys need to forget about this one. A loss is a loss, and it could just as well have been 1-0. It still only counts for one. EJax needs to eat innings, and Lannan the same, and Det on Sunday. I heart Danny Espinosa.

Nobody warming for Clippard who clearly had nothing…..Burnett was left too long. Changing Flores out…..what was that about…..Davey Johnson showed his weakness….he believes he is smarter than everyone……and is blind to the obvious. So, JayB do you bring in Henry? That would be the logical guy? After using up M. Gonzalez, Storen, Burnett, and then Clippard? Is that what you are thinking? If you are you might be the one who is wrong … he may not be ready for that situation yet. We don't know.As for catcher its the same as Mick's complaint. THEY HAD A HUGE lead that is when you get the new guys' feet wet isn't it? JayB? My gosh I expected better from you you should know better JayB.

I kind of think the Nats are like Cinderella and the clock has just struck 12. I just have to get it out of my system. Before this year, I hadn't been invested in a baseball team for a number of years.

Thanks Fear- Arguing about baseball is what makes it fun to be a fan..if we just all agreed this would be a bore. I'd count ALR over Dunn, the Gio trade, and the last 2 drafts as Hits for Rizzo…but as I said, he's had misses too…Mostly I like his preference of power arms over guys like Lannan and Millone

I heart Danny Espinosa.Sure and you were among those ready to dump him earlier? The best athlete on the team bar none? As for Morse … are you sure someone else would have gotten to those balls? As it is in the late innings they had the Shark in left to go with Harper in CF? Morse probably is better suited for first base but you weren't happy with him even with the best production of any hitter last year? Sheesh! Go take a nap!

Is this also where having a young squad who has never had a meaningful second half of A season catching up to them? In other words, teams like the Braves know how to kicked it in another gear at the half way mark and the Nats have no clue because they have never been there before?

No, the season is not unraveling. Sheesh, people! It's ONE game. What is wrong with you? Kimbrel blew a save also, and the Braves' ace (Hanson) got tagged for a six-pack twice in a row. They have to go tomorrow with the same tired players and depleted bullpen that the Nats have. All the other teams in the NL East lost. The boys will get a good night's sleep because for sure they won't be out celebrating.

As I recall both Mattheus and Stammen had been used pretty heavily in the Mets series. Its a choice. And Davey's choice against the team breathing down his team's neck was to bring in his best. And Storen, when he's right, is one of the best. This year Burnett has been up until now as has Clippard. Even though Clippard appears to have arm issues that started back in spring training. Let's face it relievers generally have a short life span before they burn-out. Maybe they should have brought in Henry Natslady?

No you bring in Henery instead of Storen. You pull Burnett and Clippard when it is obvious they have nothing…..you use Mathews before you ever bring them in. That game should have been won by Strass with holds by Hernry R, Mathews and Gonzonles. Storen….you do not risk a two game swing in the standings being cute. Storen will get his work and Sandy will catch tomorrow. Win is all that matters. Johnson is right….He Blew it in about 5 different ways. Worst Managing job I have ever seen. Just arrogant.

NatsLady, I like your optimism but I've watched a lot of baseball over my years. While I hope this is just a blip, everything I've experienced in this sport indicates it is not. Three bad outings for Clippard. Please tell me I'm wrong, but this feels like a team heading for a slide. Again, I've seen a lot of baseball and this is how it starts many times. Hope I'm wrong.

Shows what a stooped Oriole fans knows:Zimmermann, Zimmerman, Clippard, & Espinosa (all Bowden selections), and got rid of Hanrahan and Willingham for HRod, Brown, Nyjer and Burnett. Please explain why he is such a great GM???GUESS WHAT!? Rizzo drafted Zimmermann. Kasten hired him to be the asst. GM in charge of the draft. He had convince the Bowden hires to draft Zimmermann second even though he was technically in charge? In exchange he had to watch them draft a real loser in the sandwich round. Another slow, non-athletic but big bat dontcha know in Michael Burgess. How's he doing that's Bowden's pick.Clippard was acquired in a trade with the Yankees.Espinosa was drafted by Rizzo … he was in charge of the draft from 2007 on. Bowden didn't want to draft him because Boras was his agent and Bowden had serious problems with Boras and similar agents. Its why he lost Aaron Crow. Go back to the Oriole sites F&I.

No doubt Storen is one of the best. But he hasn't gone two days in a row. And you had to be there, conditions were really bad. That is not the moment to bring in a guy coming off an injury, even though he didn't throw that many pitches yesterday. The umps asked Freddi if he wanted to call the game, and he said go ahead with it, so props to him.

No you bring in Henery instead of Storen. You pull Burnett and Clippard when it is obvious they have nothing…..you use Mathews before you ever bring them in.So, you keep bringing in Mattheus and his TJ restored arm until it burns out JayB? Really? And Henry with his confidence issues ready to throw wild pitch after wild pitch (albeit it was almost the same with Leon's passed balls … I wonder if he's related to Henry … he didn't do this in the minors)

Eagle-In the end, I think Rizzo will be judged on how well guys like Meyer, Rendon, Purke, Solis, Ray, Giolito, and of course, Zimmerman, Werth and Gio perform. Getting Strasburg and Harper really makes his tenure look better than it has been, to me. He is great at the scouting and drafting, but so far hasn't been real great at the MLB level with FA signings. I was pretty indifferent on the Gio trade, and probably would have done the same thing, but Milone has been flat out awesome his last 6 starts…41 IP, 5 ER, 3 walks, and about 35 K's. I do think Rizzo will get better and don't think he should be fired…that is a little ridiculous. Lets hope Davey told the boys to go get drunk tonight…pass out for a few hours and come out sweep tomorrow.

Disagree with your assessment Mark…The biggest meltdown came from Burnett….You know when a reliever is on and when he is not…walking 2 straight batters including a bases loaded 4 pitch walk should be grounds for being taken out of a game….Davey has been great this season, but letting Burnett continue to pitch after a 4 pitch walk with bases loaded (after another walk) is inexcusable

JayB, I am so with you on this. Being at the game, it was incredible to see. Just when Randy Knorr said Davey was great at bullpen management he did everything wrong. Seriously, Davey we are beyond "teaching moments." Get Stras out of there. He was on the bases, it was chilly and raining. This was not the moment to say he should tough it out.

exactly Doug….Johnson lost that game by being completely too cute and over confident in his perceived brilliance. He was wrong and he now admits it but that is not worth a dam…Win was all that mattered………………any little league manager would have don a better job…it is like is was asleep…..He is too old to stay sharp abler 10 PM?

Well, he was right about that. Most of the time the manager makes a negligible difference, it's on the players. But this one was on Davey. Not saying RZ and Harper, et al, couldn't have rescued him, but when you are leading 9-0 in the 6th inning YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO WIN THE GAME.

we should have won the game in the 10th, top of the order with a pitcher of an ERA of almost 4.00, that was also bad and shows are best guys not ready for prime time in a big game verse Braves prime time guys.

Wow. the chickens really came home to roost tonight.1. Burnett has a sore elbow2. Can't win a pennant with a Thirdbaseman with a severe throwing phobia3. JayB said it best: Davey's cockey, but he's also kinda stupid.4. Strasburg looks like a head case to me.5. Clippard's cinderella run as an effective pitcher is over. He's always been wild high — always. I'm just amazed it took the league 2 years to stop swinging at his junk.6. Storen is a sissy; believes he's better than he is7. Harper is overated as a hitter – period.8. Rizzo: see #3A panicked slump is already underway. Nats will lose this series. The bullpen wil continue to implodeStrasburg is burningNats can and should make the playoffs, but they need a younger and better manager — and some major kahonas. This is just getting interesting.Go Nats — wipe that cockey smile off your faces and start playing.Zimmerman: you suck and will continue to cost us with your Steve Sax throwing problem. he should be traded to the AL where he can dh — his days in the field are way past over.

There are few things you can control in baseball, but Defense is one of them.Zimmerman embarassed himself early in the game when he shied away from a one hop grounder hit right to him. FP and Carp cowardly said nothing. But Zim was shy (afraid to harsh a word?) away from that hot shot — resulted in the ball caroming off his glove for an error — NO, the scorer gave it a HIT. Bull. It was a clean error — Two Runs ScoredLater in the 11th, his pathetic throw to first results in Uggla going to second — and later scoring only because the Phobic (Zim) allowed him to second.Summary: Zimmerman cost us 3 runs tonight. He lost this game. Some nights you hit and some nights to don't. Some nights to pitch and sometimes you don't. Fielding is always there. Which is why Zimmerman will cost this team — is costing this team — and we just signed this broken, phobic, thirdbaseman 10o mil.Mayber Rizzo does need to look in the mirror -

Not sure this loss will truly be the downfall of this years team but it surely exposed Davey as a an average manager when we all thought he was excellent….Hard to truly blame him though has overperforming his bullpen has been as late…although somebody in baseball as long as he has been knows when you have your stuff and when you don't….I understand the players lost this game but entire blame goes to Davey based on his decisions to keep guys in who weren't their average.

wow, buddy of mine who use to work for NSA just sent me a chilling email on the 18 minute Watergate tape gap, just got a chill… weird day with all that is going on, Aurora, Nats loss, but this takes the cake… gap dealt with JFK assassination and James Forrestal death.gotta go later gang… this is now more important.. hope the boys can win 2.

Natsfansincestart – The guy is a gold glover…he makes some ridiculously easy errors but he certainly makes some unbelievable plays that most 3B cant make…He is frustrating to watch for sure, but he is definitely a top 10 3B in the league

Doug: A former gold glover, yes. Those days are well behind him. Zim makes many many easy plays look hard – he stumbles, he falls, he flails: he is the leaague's quiet joke,He has a phobia problem with his throw. It's not the change he made two years ago — that's a canard: Zim cannot throw. And it cost us tonight and will continue to cost.Keep loving Zim in the field, but he's gonna break your heart, guaranteed. Heck, even you admit that he is only a "top ten 3B " in the league. haha I think there are only 15 teams?No one can defend Zim's fielding, no one.

@peric dont really understand the comment…I was at the bar tonight and even the new casual Nats fans could agree he wasn't hitting his spots and wasn't his same old self. As an MLB manager with a lead shrinking, you should know to take that guy out and bring in a Mattheus or another reliever that is on his game.

Ha…by top 10 in the league i meant MLB…and that is being conservative…he has some issues but be glad he is on our team and not on another team. Wish there was a quantifiable stat to defend how many singles Zim saves based on the unreal plays he makes at 3B

With all that said: This team is hitting the crap out of the ball!!!!!I hope Zimmerman doesn't get Phobic about his hitting too!!!When you score 10 runs, you have to win. If you call yourself a contender, that is. And Davey, you are right: this game WAS your fault,

As an MLB manager with a lead shrinking, you should know to take that guy out and bring in a Mattheus or another reliever that is on his game.Even Davey intimated as much. In the end, against the Braves who do you call? Your best guys. He still considers Storen one of his best guys. What Davey admitted to was leaving both he and Burnett in so long … and really it started with Michael Gonzalez. He allowed 2 inherited runners to score.Davey admitted he was thinking of saving Gorzo for the double header and that's who should have come in instead of Gonzalez. Is that cute? I don't know with Lannan coming in with a really horrible July? A 7.47 ERA, 4 home runs and an 0 – 3 record? This sounds like a Rizzo choice not a Davey Johnson choice. Maybe he is still trying to trade the guy … or maybe that's how the depth chart looks … but its likely why Johnson managed this game the way he did looking to the second game of the double header, and planning in advance for when Lannan got shelled. I can't blame him for thinking ahead. But at the same time the old saw says take one game at a time. And that's why Davey is taking the blame.If you want to direct fault, then direct it at whomever decided to let that loser Lannan pitch the second game of what is a key double header tomorrow.

I certainly agree with the choice of having Storen pitch in that situation. Great way to get back to the big leagues with what they thought would be a no risk situation. The problem was leaving Burnett after walking in a run on 4 pitches after walking in the batter before. No excuse for leaving him in except stubborness of thinking that the lead was too big to lose and letting a great pitcher who wasn't on his game work out his issues. Still think Davey is a much better manager than Robinson/Acta but he is responsible for the loss on this one. Sure, he admitted it was his fault in the post game presser which is great, but still don't understand the rationale for keeping burnett in when he couldn't hit his spots.

FWIW, I agree with Davey – this one is on him. He had some rested arms in the pen, but chose to bring in Storen, Burnet and Clip. Imagine if he had just brought in a well-rested Gorzo to pitch the 8th against the Braves LH lineup instead of Storen (just back from rehab, and who pitched the day before), and Burnet, who has been complaining of a balky back and has not been at his best, of late.He could have let Gorzo finish it off in the 9th, and had Matheus warming up, just in case. And he would still have a relatively well-rested BP for today.The walks just killed them, and then the uncharacteristically bad D in the 11th. Davey can trust the guys in the pen not named Burnet, Storen and Clippard, especially with a 6-run lead, and necessarily when those other three are not well-rested and sharp. Clip, especially, had no command.Davey's worst-managed game of the year. But he can have an off-day, just like any of his players.

"gap dealt with JFK assassination and James Forrestal death."Suggest you read "Secret History of the CIA" especially the material on the JFK assassination. It was based on Jim Angleton's private papers, which he provided to the author on condition he not publish them until at least 10 years after his death. Lots of stuff about JFK most people don't know, including the Mary Meyer story. Meyer was a personal friend of Angleton and his wife.Ask your friend. Bet he knows all about it.

I'm thinking they need to put a little sign or plaque there. Yes, I'd like a seat in the Beast Mode area (Beast Mode Bistro?), please. Morse's was something to behold, a 465-foot moonshot that struck the railing behind the picnic benches in the Red Porch. According to ESPN's Hit Tracker, it was the longest home run in Nationals Park history.

NatsLady said… Just got back from the game. I hope Davey apologizes for the way he managed it.(1) Strasburg should never have come back for the 6th, or if he did he should have been removed after the HR, or after the next batter. Conditions were terrible.(2) Davey TOO cute by half. No reason AT ALL to bring Storen in. None. Bring Gorzy in and let him go two or three, as usual. If he gives up a run or two it's still 9-4 or 9-5. Then give M. Gonzalez and Mattheus an inning each to finish the game. That's the usual plan for Stras starts and Davey should have stuck with it!!!(3) When it was 9-8, use Mattheus instead of Clip Something is wrong with Clip, whether it's his head or it's his shoulder, I can't say. Maybe he isn't warming enough, whatever. You can't manage to the "save" statistic. Just let Clip rest another day–it's not like you won't need him for the doubleheader.You Morse lovers. I missed the first inning because I couldn't leave work until 6. So I'm walking from my car and hear the Morse HR and I was totally ready to eat crow on a Morse trade. Then I watched him give at least two runs back in RF, and take really weird routes on the balls he did catch. Werth can't get back soon enough!I suppose you put Morse in left then, but Lombo is actually fine there. He doesn't have the arm, for sure, but he gets to all the catchable balls and some that you don't think he'll catch, and he has sure hands. Get Morse to the AL where he belongs and get a SP, because Stras is struggling.Now the boys need to forget about this one. A loss is a loss, and it could just as well have been 1-0. It still only counts for one. EJax needs to eat innings, and Lannan the same, and Det on Sunday. I heart Danny Espinosa. ——————————————-NATSLADY This is very impressive. You are spot on in your post. Hope this doesn't get in their heads